


The Violet Court

by Blue_Stars_Above



Series: Mr. Argyle [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Abusive Parents, F/F, Fantasy, M/M, Nonbinary Character, Other, Science Fiction, Transphobia, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:27:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22638415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blue_Stars_Above/pseuds/Blue_Stars_Above
Summary: It's been weeks since Jordan and their friends left Mr. Argyle's manor, but that doesn't mean all the pain and worry is behind them. It'll take a lot to put him behind them, especially as his threat still looms. After all, what's to stop him from coming after them?-- or, more specifically, from coming after Jordan?
Series: Mr. Argyle [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1628512





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hey guys! Part 2 of Mr. Argyle!!!! we're finally here folks. it's gonna be a bit strange compared to the first part, but I hope you like it.

“Janine?”

“Yeah, Jordan?”

“What happened to you?”

It was a beautiful night in the Violet Court, stars shining above and below. We were camped out on the dock, fingers dangling over the edge to trace constellations below us. The stars here were so much more brilliant than on Earth, each shining a different bright color, and filling every corner of the sky. I smiled lazily, the first smile I’d managed in a while.

“I don’t know what happened that night at dinner, but I was in my room when I came to. Dorothea explained that I was to stay in the room at all times-- she’d bring me my meals whenever I rang, and the books she brought would explain what was happening.

“So, I read. I read about the etumi dumu, and the Association, and the big wide multiverse that stretched before us. To think, Earth was one habitated planet, in a universe full of them, in a  _ multiverse _ full of those!” She rolled over, laughing a little.

“Do you think the Association will really help us?”

“I’m a protected member. They revere the etumi dumu. They’ll welcome me with open arms and take me seriously.”

I rolled over onto my back, grunting at the weight of my cast and the difficulty that came with it. Stars above greeted me, along with the paper lanterns strung between some of the buildings. They weren’t there in the day, just at night-- I pondered if they were invisible during the day, or if someone set them up each night. Probably Kiran. He did have the boundless energy for it.

“Wanna get a late-night snack?” I didn’t feel like stargazing. I needed to do something,  _ something _ , rather than waste my time here.

“Sure. Klem berry sandwich?”

“Yeah, okay.”

As we walked-- or, more accurately, Janine walked and I wheeled myself along in my wheelchair-- my fingers skipped over the crystalline bushes, searching for the soft and bouncy texture that indicated something organic. It was almost time for the harvest. I soon found a handful of klem berries, each blue and rubbery, alien compared to the fruits I’d encountered back home. I cracked one open and watched it spread in the air, insides solidifying into a dark blue paste with a light blue center. Janine insisted the first layer was mostly purple, but I couldn’t see it

Upon contact with another klem berry’s paste, a third layer of light blue formed between them. I still didn’t understand the Violet Court. Time would rapidly slow down and speed up, gravity would lessen on certain days of the week, and who knew why the buildings changed color? The klem berry sandwich was an odd mix of cotton candy sweet and grape sour in my mouth. It was hard to eat with my jackal’s head. I was still getting used to everything.

I heard his approach before Janine did. I waved as he flickered into being, sweaty and flustered. He gave us a wide smile, panting a little.

“Jeez, Kiran, you can afford to slow down.”

“Nnnnnope! Too much to do, too much to see! Must paint the underside of Bush #36’s leaves a slightly darker blue! Guten nacht, Jordan! Guten morgen, Janine!”

With that he was off, form flickering as he raced around to his tasks. He always had a crazed look in his too-bright eyes, never able to stay still and never quite making sense when he did. Janine bit into her sandwich and gave him a late wave. 

“Has he always known German?”

“Not sure. Would your brother have known German?”

“Probably, but I don’t know how this--” I gestured hopelessly. “ _ This _ is my brother.”

“Well, you remember him as a kid, don’t you? He had fun with you, playing adventure in the woods and making up stories about the fae that lived there. Kiran is that childlike energy, probably a part of himself that Rainer had to suppress while he was writing the pamphlets and helping you escape.”

“I  _ really  _ wish you’d stop poking around in my head, and stop psychoanalyzing.”

Janine gave a sheepish grin. “Sorry. Apparently it’s rare for my kind, so Roswell’s been teaching me a lot about it.”

“Roswell doesn’t speak.”

“He still tells me things. You should pay attention some time, make an effort to understand him. He’s also your brother, isn’t he?”

My ear twitched. “Somehow, Mallory’s the only one who seems like Rainer.”

“To you. They’re all Rainer to Rainer.”

I whipped around, ears flat. “You don’t know that. You didn’t know Rainer. Alternates are just people distantly related to us, not aspects of ourselves.”

Janine’s voice was quiet. “They’re called alternates for a reason. And, you didn’t know Rainer either. Just a version of him, the older brother who protected you as a child. You were a child, Jordan. You hardly knew him.”

“Fuck you. No psychoanalyzing.”

She held her hands up in a facsimile of a surrender. “You’re awfully moody tonight. I’ll leave you with one last hypothesis-- your behavior is because you’re anxious about meeting the Association tomorrow. You think the Violet Court will be revealed, and you’re scared you’ll lose the last pieces of your brother that you have.”

“That’s an awful lot of observations. Good night.”

I took a deep breath before wheeling back to my tower. Someone had installed a handy ramp a few days after our arrival. Once inside, I slipped off my shoes and rolled into the ‘elevator’, as Mallory called it. I wished I could use the spiral staircase, trace the slight patterns in the stonework of the building. Kiran said they were little messages he’d leave to remind himself of errands and things long gone. To me, they were meaningless etchings.

I paused at the foot of my bed. I turned to face myself in the mirror to my left. The bone had begun to heal well in the few weeks we’d been here, though there was a longer path ahead of me. While the memory was still fresh in my mind, the pain was all but gone, replaced by a consistent numbness that often distracted me at night. I could imagine the thin scar running up my leg where Roswell had stitched the flesh shut after surgery. It was....

I was different. I knew that much, though the others could only detect a few of the changes. My hearing was drastically different with these large ears. Never had my sense of smell been so powerful, and my vision been so amazing yet lacking. I turned over my own hand. This wasn’t always my skin color. Blue didn’t used to pop so much against the dull yellow background of the world.

What terrified me most were the more psychological changes. I now preferred the taste of raw meat, enjoyed the ease with which I pulled apart the flesh with my teeth. Something in me wanted to fight, to chase, to tear apart when I’d spot a small animal darting between the bushes. My dreams were oversaturated, the only time I saw red and it was a bright, ugly color. Something was horribly, horribly wrong with me.

I changed into my nightclothes and flopped into bed. A long day awaited. We’d finally get to leave the Violet Court, all of us save for Kiran, and visit the Association. I buried my face into a pillow.  _ Will they even hear us out? He’s been allowed to do what he wants for this long. _


	2. Chapter 2

_ I could hear the howling of the wind as it blew across the vast Snowlands. Mountains rose up with sheer cliff drops, piercing a horizon free of buildings or any signs of civilization. I stood on an icy boulder, watching the sky open. From the clouds dropped.... _

I blinked. I rolled over to the bedside table and pulled open my journal. I began to write.

In my dreams, I am not me. In this dream, I was a young woman with long silver hair. She wandered through an icy landscape, all alone, skin frostbitten by her lack of clothes. She had no name.

I looked back through a few more pages. Every night these dreams had plagued me, never repeated. My first night in the Violet Court I’d dreamt of people made of rock, pursued across a desert by the undead. I had been watching a young boy, Gruis, who hid in a cellar as his mother was slain.

I slipped into my clothes, taking a while to pull a shirt over my head, and headed downstairs. Everyone was gathered by the docks, where a small ship awaited us. Though it was shaped like a traditional ship back on Earth, there was no mast, and a glass dome covered the deck. The ship’s exterior had a thin layer of metal, with a metal door being the only entrance into the glass dome.

“Roswell says there’s no air in space. The dome will keep it all in so we don’t die.” Janine was at my side as I approached the ship.

“Aren’t we just shifting universes? Why do we need an artificial atmosphere?” There was Tova, in a long skirt and loose red shirt. She carried a bag with her, though I wondered what she could possibly need that the Association wouldn’t provide.

“Actuallyyyyyy, if you were to shift directly from the Violet Court to an Association outpost, they could potentially find out where the Violet Court is located by going--”

Kiran stopped speaking to try and gesture with his hands. It didn’t make much sense.

“-and that would  _ not _ be desirable. Nope nope nope, not at all! Oh dears, I  _ do  _ hope this all goes well! Ah, safe travels, good grief and alas!”

Kiran zipped away. 

“I think I’ve discovered a word to describe Kiran.”

Obedience was barely holding back a grin. I bit--  _ wait maybe that’s not the best phrase to use when I have literal fangs now _ . I....took the bait? Maybe that would work. Whatever.

“What is it?”

“Zany.”

“I’d offer eccentric, but that does work pretty well.”

There were heavy footsteps as someone emerged from the ship. The metal door slid open-- Mallory. He gave us a wide smile and began counting.

“Looks like you’re all here. Alright, so Roswell will be accompanying us as well, while Kiran will be staying behind to tend to the Violet Court. This trip should only be a day or two, but either way the Association will give us lodgings. Just stick with the rest of the group, and uh--”

He fumbled around in the messenger bag slung across his shoulder. He seemed casually dressed despite the fact that we were visiting representatives of the largest multiverse organization. Mallory pulled out a series of thin little books, much smaller than most journals. He flipped one open and displayed it. It showed a photo of Mallory, with a series of numbers and letters under it. It also listed some descriptors that didn’t seem to make much sense-- handedness, flavor-color, solubility, and magnetism were a few that I could pick out before Mallory snapped the book shut.

“Keep these on your person at all times. They’re pretty necessary.”

As he handed them out, Esther turned to Janine.

“Janine, why is yours different, if I may ask?”

“Oh, yes, I’m considered a class A3-- I think-- individual since I’m an etumi dumu. You guys are human....save Jordan, so you’re class C1.”

I flipped through my book. “Meaning?”

“You’re....not considered individuals. You’re really no better than animals to them.”

Isabella, usually soft-spoken, snorted as she examined her own booklet. “And who are they to judge that?”

Mallory herded us onto the ship’s ramp. “A group made up of dozens of intelligent and very powerful species from across the multiverse. We don’t want to insult these people. There’s a lot of empires behind the Association.”

Roswell boarded last and brought up the ramp, sealing the way onto the ship. As I watched, we rose into the air, though I felt no shaking from the floor below, heard no roaring engines. I wondered what technology could be responsible for this-- probably something outside the realm of my imagination, considering all I’d seen in the last month. Obedience and Isabella flocked to the glass, watching awestruck as the ship rose to greet the stars above. Below us, Kiran waved.

And then, he was gone. The stars were still there, yet in an instant they had all shifted around. The constellations of the Violet Court were no more, nor was the Violet Court itself. We were floating in an abyss of stars. For a brief second, I thought of Rainer, of the void I’d first seen him in, from that dream so long ago. The expanses of space seemed lonely, but Rainer’s void had been much more with its lack of stars.

I was shaken out of my thoughts as Janine pointed ahead to the horizon. A shape became clearer as we approached-- something colossal in size, perfectly spherical save for metallic outcroppings at precise right angles, sticking straight ahead into space. They were in a variety of sizes, though most seemed to dwarf our ship as we approached, and rested on various levels of the metal sphere. I gasped as I realized what it was-- a gigantic ship, as unflawed in its design as a marble.

“One of the Association’s centers” Janine murmured. “Those are its docking stations. Our ship will land on one of those before we’re brought in.”

I looked up at Janine and was surprised to find her as shaken as myself. Her hands fidgeted on the back of my wheelchair as she sucked in a deep breath.

As we approached, there was a series of unplaceable high-pitched tones, and a voice, clear as if it were next to me, rang throughout the entirety of the ship. The speaker’s voice sounded slow and the language-- well, alien. My tongue felt heavy and unnatural as I tried to echo the words to myself, and within these words came bubbling noises and sudden intakes of air.

Mallory responded in kind, though his words didn’t come as quickly or easily as the invisible speaker. After a few phrases, he stepped towards Janine.

“Here, hold up your papers.”

Janine brought the booklet up, as if showing it off to the nonexistent sky, pages flipped open to a recent photo of herself, though I knew not when it was taken. A series of noises came back before the speaker fell silent, and then a series of tones again before our ship continued onwards.

“What was that?”

“We needed to present Janine’s identification to get in. We’ll be docking in a few moments now.”

As the great ship approached us-- or, rather, we it-- a rectangle of metal peeled off from its hull, still connected as it lay outwards, inviting us to dock. Our ship settled easily, noiseless and without any lurching. Mallory waited a moment as another series of high-pitched tones rang out before opening the door. 

I took a deep breath- air. Somehow, though we were parked on the exterior of this ship in the expanse of space, an atmosphere was present. It even felt fresh, though I saw no planets nearby. Whatever this technology was, it seemed to be beyond Mallory. Next to this wonder of the multiverse, our ship was but a poorly-crafted toy.

Again with the tones, and then a door slid open from the ship’s hull, inviting us inside. Aided by Janine, I rolled down the ramp and through the opening, into the behemoth ship and whatever awaited us inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you guys are enjoying part 2 :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Just an FYI, since I don't have much material yet for Part 2, and I'm busy with classes right now, I'm going to slow down updates to every two weeks or so. I hope to resume my regular rate when we reach summer.

Once we had all entered, the opening slid shut. We were in a room of pure white metal, save for the white lights built in every ten feet or so, and the yellowish trim on the walls. There was someone-- something?-- waiting for us, a being of translucent skin. I could see its organs floating around, too small and few for a human. The being also had seven long tentacles, though four of them seemed to serve as legs, and a trail of feathers along its spine. It wore a plain white uniform and a black bracelet, and moved towards us.

The being made a few noises between chirping and bubbling. It tapped its black bracelet and a display of lights leapt out, forming what appeared to be letters or characters in a language I couldn’t decipher.

Behind me I heard Obedience whisper to Mallory. “What’s that?”

“The person or the object?”

"Um, either?"

“Well, they’re a Salidian, originally from Planet Deltan-BLDW12-SB187-U626. Though, outside of history classes, homeplanets don’t matter much. As far as the device--” Mallory squinted. “It looks like a high-class hapand. Hapands are basically bracelets that direct you places, but this one seems to have holographic capabilities too. I’d bet this Salidian is matching us to what’s on file.”

The Salidian turned and called back behind them. Another being stepped forward. This one was more humanoid, though they had four legs and four arms, and were completely hairless. With a word from the Salidian, the being began to seemingly claw at the air, as if trying to forcefully rip apart the air itself. _Maybe they can_. With this came a series of pained expressions and strange spiraling motions with their....hands?

Finally, the being stepped back, silent save for their panting. As I watched, they raised one of their wrists. A glowing series of symbols was printed, not on the skin, but rather _under_ it, somehow deeper than skin. The symbols changed.

The Salidian stepped forward. They spoke in perfect English, a calm and neutral voice that didn’t seem to match the alien noises we’d heard earlier. “Thank you for your patience. I am 712624856972AC. 889012673454DP will present you with hapands for your stay here.”

Another entirely alien being stepped forward. They walked around, presenting us each with a small black band to wrap around our dominant arm. I was almost getting a headache from all the strange sights-- first the Salidian, then the odd four-legged man, and now a being made of solid ooze.

The hapand firmly clasped shut around my wrist, almost a bit too tightly for comfort. Upon closer inspection, the bracelet had a small raised section facing upwards, almost like an all-black watch. I ran a finger over the material-- it was reflective and cold, like glass or a polished obsidian. I could almost see my own reflection in it. I ran a over the claw

I jerked back my left hand. My hands were normal. Hairless. Clawless. Human hands. Normal hands. 

I lurched with the sudden motion of my wheelchair. Janine wheeled me forwards as we followed 712-- 713? 714?-- the Salidian down the hallway. As we went, our hapands sent out a series of vibrations that seemed to move my wrist to the left or right as I neared bends and turns-- it was quite literally pushing me towards my destination.

Janine leaned down, voice low. “This is kinda insane, huh?”

“I mean, I guess, but it’s all still so new and strange. A few books can’t prepare me for all of this.”

“How does Mallory even keep track of everything? The galaxies, the species....It’s so much.”

“I don’t know. Maybe all of these interstellar people have books implanted in their heads.”

I thought back on the Information Body in Mr. Argyle’s library. Maybe that’s how they worked.

At the end of our route was an indented section of wall, which slid away to reveal a wide circular opening. The Salidian and their companions waited at the side as we entered, the four-legged being clawing and pushing at the air again.

Mallory stepped forwards with a deep breath. He stood tall, chest puffed out a little, before confidently striding into the room-- or at least with as much confidence as he could manage. I eyed the others, all of them exchanging glances in a nervous silence. Isabella was the first to follow Mallory, and soon we all pushed on. The wall slid back into place with a silent hiss.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeehaw it's time for some worldbuilding

Gasps moved through the crowd assembled along the back wall. The figures leaned over, tapping at metallic contraptions along their faces as they peered closer. They rustled as they moved, feathers raising along arms and wings alike. 

In front of these spectators was a more regal figure and their attendees. The individual also peered at us, but more subdued, their lean ever so slight. A clawed talon tapped away on the arm of their seat, the figure otherwise motionless. 

An attendant offered them a white chalice, filled with blue liquid, but they waved it away, resuming their tapping. They stopped, and spoke in a high voice, once again in perfect English.

“What is that disgusting thing?”

And then I understood the whispers. The gasps among the crowd. My ears fell flat upon my head, trying to muffle out the noise, but I heard them just as well, heard their hushed gossip.

“A mongrel....”

“It’s disgusting.”

“An atipin and a nomilin  _ breeding _ ?”

“Is it safe?”  
“Could be diseased.”

At the sight of my flattened ears, a different noise rose up among the crowd. Their whispers were replaced with laughter. Horrible, hideous laughter.

The more regal being raised their talon ever so slightly, silencing the crowd. 

“Etumi dumu, what is this mongrel doing here?”

Janine stepped forwards. She glanced back at Mallory and Roswell as she lowered into a curtsy before quickly raising herself out of it. She faced the being, raising herself to her full height, and spoke slowly.

“T-they’re part of the reason I came to see you today, your, um....” She searched for a title before rushing on. “I need to speak with you about a being who’s been terrorizing the residents of a planet I was on.”

“Speak.”

Janine’s eyes widened. She glanced back at Mallory and waved him forwards. “He will explain....i-if you shall so permit!”

The being was silent. Mallory approached before kneeling and covering his eyes in some strange form of a bow. 

“Admistralio, we have come because an atipin has been attacking and killing the humans of the planet ‘Earth’, also known as Planet Gimlin-YDW6367296- SBC37921-U413. This creature, known as Mr. Argyle, also kidnapped and toyed with Janine White, an etumi dumi. He erased some of her memories, interrogated her, and was going to make an attempt on her life.

“We have come to request your assistance in putting a stop to his activities.”

“The mongrel is his offspring?”

Mallory swallowed as he looked at me. “Yes. Jordan Argyle. They were unaware of Mr. Argyle’s crimes, and are also fleeing from him.”

One of the Admistralio’s attendants summoned a holograph from their hapand. “Was the atipin aware of Janine White’s status as an etumi dumu?”

Janine bit her lip. “Not at first, no. After a few days he realized.”

“What followed this realization?”

“He put me in a room and kept me separate from the others.”

“Were you harmed physically or mentally in the following period?”

“No.”

“Were you lacking in necessities as according to your species?”

“No, he had his servant Dorothea bring me food and water.”

“What was his intent?”

“His intent?”

“Were you to be kept there indefinitely?”

“I don’t know. I was in there for maybe a week-- seven days, that is-- more before I was freed by my fri-- humans.”

“To confirm, there were no transgressions other than those mentioned?”

“He made an attempt on my life. He also killed multiple humans, and attacked several others.”

Another attendant replaced the first, summoning a different image from their hapand. “In accordance with The Interuniverse Association of Organic Sentience’s classifications, human beings, also known as homo sapiens, ‘Earthlings’, ‘Earth-men’, humanity, et cetera, fall under the Class C1 designation for species, and thus are not protected by Association regulations. Any perceived slights, violence, rudeness, crimes, or otherwise negative actions committed against such beings are not for the Association to handle. Your statement about the humans shall not be taken into consideration. The attempt on your life, however, is a different matter. Please describe your perception of this event.”

Janine swallowed. “He....he rushed at me, with his jaws open. He was going to bite my head off.”

“Were there any perceived slights against him in the events leading up to this?”

“I-I was protecting the humans, and Jordan. He was planning to eat the humans, and....well, I don’t know what he was planning with Jordan, but he had broken their leg, and was holding them captive.”

“To clarify, you were attempting to take property from Mr. Argyle’s possession before the attempt on your life?”

Janine stepped forwards. “They’re not property, they’re like me. These humans can communicate just as well as I can-- Mallory spoke for me.”

“Though humans are acknowledged as being capable of intelligent action, and generally possessing that intelligence due to their organic capabilities, they have not been shown to qualify as Class A1 due to their logic being limited, and no human has ever qualified as a Class B2 individual. Humans have no self-ownership, and thus may qualify as another being’s property.”

I placed my hand on Janine’s. I could feel her shaking. I’d never seen her so....scared? She wasn’t scared for herself, though. It was us she was scared for. Us hu-- the humans and I were fair game. I felt her hand reach for where my hair would’ve been, a human’s soothing gesture, but she found only my fur, my ears. Her hand fell back to her side. 

Her voice was quiet. “What about my friend here, t-the child of the atipin. They’re not human.”

The Admistralio lowered their gaze to meet mine. “This....anomalin is worth less than your humans, save for the zzm its cadaver would sell for.”

One of the attendants spoke, though I would have been hard-pressed to tell any of them apart. “An anomalin such as this hails from a Class C2 species, as it is the only one of its kind. Any attempt at moving past this designation would be meaningless, as additionally evidenced by its mentally- and physically-crippled status.”

“Jordan is not a cripple!”

The feathers on the Admistralio’s head rose, fluffing out. The attendants stepped back from their leader, heads bowed low. They covered their eyes. 

“Its status as a cripple is obvious. This audience has been granted to you due to your status as an etumi dumu, but falsehoods will not be permitted. Speak any more lies and you shall be penalized.”

“Lies? I just--” Janine cut herself off. She was looking at me intently, almost in an examiner’s manner. I wanted to shrink away from the attention, any attention. I shut my eyes tight, trying to will the world away. It almost felt like it worked. Everything was so much easier to ignore if I just closed my eyes and shut it out.

Janine’s voice was quiet when she finally spoke. “M-may we request lodgings?”

The Admistralio whispered something to an attendant before turning back to us. “Your request will be granted, and the charge of theft shall be dropped against you for now, as the atipin mentioned has not pursued such action.”

An attendant moved forward. “Specifications for your lodgings will be determined afterwards. Do you have any other requests at this time?”

Janine shook her head, paused, and then said no. Perhaps these creatures didn’t know what head shaking meant. It was hard for me to imagine it was a constant in the multiverse, of all things.

We were escorted out a different exit, through some panel in the wall I hadn’t noticed before. I almost felt nauseous, squeezing my eyes and ears shut even tighter. I couldn’t tell what was what in this place, where anything was. I was entirely out of my element, though I suppose it’s been so since I responded to that damn ad. That  _ fucking  _ ad.

I felt a hand between my ears, but then it drifted lower, instead opting to rest on my shoulder.

“Are you okay? I-I’m sorry.” It was Janine.

I heard Isabella’s gentle voice. “Don’t be sorry, Janine. You tried.”

“But I haven’t helped you guys at all.”

“Not yet, but maybe we can make a new argument?”

I opened my eyes. Obedience was on my right, rubbing Janine’s arm soothingly. Janine smiled for her.

Esther turned around, walking backwards as she spoke to us. “Is there a library here? We could research their legal system, use their laws to suit our needs. Yeah?”

Obedience nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, yeah! We prepare an argument.”

Isabella tapped Janine’s shoulder. “How long are we allowed to stay here?”

Mallory finally spoke up from the front of the group, though he was still facing ahead, watching the spotless hallways pass us by. “Janine is rather special, so we could probably stay till the end of your lifetimes.”

Janine blinked. “You mean, human lifetimes.”

Mallory nodded.

“How long do my people live? What about you?”

“An etumi dumu can live for....” he waved his hand through the air, as if searching for words. “Millenia? Longer? There are many factors, but either way your lifespan is much longer than a human’s, though millenia aren’t much to the Association. Your aging will begin to slow down in a few years, though normally your kind would age much slower starting from birth. Perhaps it’s the Earth’s fault.”

He didn’t answer the other question. No one else seemed to notice. 

We finally reached our destination-- some sort of waiting room, judging from the appearance. Chairlike molds were carved out from the wall, allowing us to sit down. I watched as the molds moved suddenly, snugly conforming to the bodies of those sitting in them. On the wall, bright lights scrolled across a display, forming moving symbols that seemed too blurry to decipher. It hurt my eyes to stare at them.

Janine patted my shoulder. “Hey. Are you sleepy?”

I jerked. “Hmm?”

“I thought you were dozing off. You kept closing your eyes.”

“No, I just-- the lights hurt is all. I’m not used to this. I just need to rest.”

Janine gnawed at her lip. She rubbed her thumb across my shoulder bone, probably bumping against the tense tissue there. “Go on. Try and sleep. I’ll wake you if anything happens.”

“Okay. Okay.” I felt my eyes grow heavy at the thought of sleep. I could hardly remember the last time I had a good, normal sleep, the sleep I’d been used to as a child, instead of heavy sleep caused by false security or strange dreams. The room seemed to grow darker as my eyes flickered, going longer and longer without reopening.

“Okay.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey, sorry this chapter's a tad late-- I've been busy w/ all this corona stuff lol

_ My dream was cold and metallic, a ship floating among the stars. It was not unlike the ship we came to the Association in, but it had no deck, instead looking like a large and oblong metal box. Here and there glass windows were set into the ship, revealing its inhabitants, though they were far more concerned with something else. _

_ Red flashing. Loud blaring. And then silence. Human bodies stood in front of moving pictures, watching explosions unfurl before them. There were no murmurs or gasps. Only silent acceptance. One human raised a hand to their mouth, as if to cover it, but their hand glided upwards to rub at their temples. _

_ The human turned to me, long purple hair crowded around their face. They looked so nervous, so scared. They opened their mouth and-- _

I awoke. My eyes weren’t open, but I knew myself to be no longer in a dream. It was hard to tell how much time had passed-- I wasn’t that groggy, but my surroundings felt different, unfamiliar. The air was stale and tasteless, a marked change from how it had been in the public areas, when we first boarded the Association’s ship.

Behind my eyelids there was light, washing into wherever I was. Heavy footsteps lumbered out, and noiselessly the light was gone. I finally opened my eyes. I was on a cot, my back propped up by colorless pillows. The room was dark, but that was no worry to me. I had become much better at discerning shapes and depth in the dark.

There was a cot above mine, and two similar setups on the wall opposite ne. The beds were set into the walls, with matching colorless sheets and rungs in the walls to reach the higher cots. Across from me were Isabella and Tova in the bottom cots, with Obedience and Esther in the top ones. I assumed Janine was above me. All were asleep, faint snores filling the air, only accompanied by mechanical hums and whirs.

My wheelchair was next to the bed. It was a labor to move myself from the bed into the wheelchair, especially without waking anyone else up. It was too early in my recovery for me to even try and use crutches-- apparently, my leg had been  _ really  _ messed up.  _ Thanks, Dad. _

I wheeled myself over to the door. As I raised my hand, fumbling for some sort of invisible door handle or button, a section of the wall peeled back, revealing a glowing square. I reached upwards, trying to feel for any buttons, and as I laid my palm flat against the square the wall slid back. Light flooded into the room.

The door closed behind me. I was in a hallway, just as identical to the ones I’d seen before. My wheels moved soundlessly over the flooring. I turned to the left and began my slow roll down, watching for any movement or interesting rooms. It didn’t seem as if the areas were meant to be visible to prying eyes or wanderers. I couldn’t tell wall from hidden room, and my only thanks was for the fact that the hallways weren’t segmented off from each other.

A section of the wall noiselessly slid back and a figure emerged, bumping into me. I let out a quiet yelp as I began to roll backwards, steadying myself, and looked up.

It was Roswell. He bent down, peering at me, and began to sign. I struggled to catch onto his words, even though he was obviously slowing his movements for me. I hadn’t spent much time trying to learn his nonverbal language since I’d met him— hell, I’d barely spent any time with him.

_ Why are you out here? _

“I woke up. I was restless.”

_ Are you hungry? _

I shrugged. “A little.”

Roswell motioned for me to follow. We walked through the halls, quiet save for a faint electrical hum. He stopped in front of a section of wall, bringing his hand near it. Just as before, a glowing square revealed itself, and he placed his hand on it. A door opened in the wall, sliding shut after we entered.

It was a small room, still complying to the mainly white color scheme everywhere else on the ship. In the middle of the room was a long, oval table-- or, some approximation of a table. As I bent my head down to see underneath, I found it was lacking in legs, instead seeming to hover in the air. Along the walls were cubbies, containing odd cutlery, plates, and more. 

Roswell took a seat at the table, moving around as he settled into a floating version of one of those molding seats I’d seen in the waiting room, and I joined him. He ran his thumb over the edge of the table, finding a small groove. As he pushed down, a light flickered on.

Roswell looked at me expectantly.  _ Ask for food _ .

I cleared my throat. “Can I have some food?”

The light blinked through a few other shades before shutting off. There was a small chime, and the table opened itself up, sections bending back from the center like ramps. Elevatorlike, covered platters and jugs rose out of the center, and proceeded to float down the ramps and settle down on the table. The table reverted to its normal form, and the covers on the food folded in on themselves, disappearing under the platters.

“ _ Wow _ .” I didn’t recognize any of the food, but it smelled wonderful. It was....

_ Isn’t it amazing?  _ He signed at me.

“Even with....” I paused “....him we never had such otherworldly food. It’s so hard to imagine that all of this is real.”

He shrugged, standing up to retrieve some cutlery and such from the other side of the room. I leaned over, smelling a wonderful dish that seemed to be meat, floating in a grayish-yellow substance somewhere between soup and jelly. Roswell set a plate down in front of me.

_ That is sham-gii. Very sweet and spicy. Eat it slowly. _

I watched as he sat down with his own plate and began shovelling food onto it. He seemed to favor a brightly-colored salad of blue and yellow. 

“Considering how advanced these people are, I’m surprised their dishes don’t serve themselves.”

He paused. He slowly set down his fork.  _ They do. But you have to speak. You have to say out loud what dish and how much of it, or what you want from the wall.  _ He pointed behind me.

“So you can’t use any of their commands, since you’re mute? What about other mute people? They have to have mute people in this universe.”

Roswell shook his head.  _ If you can’t speak you get _ .... He trailed off, gesturing at an area where the side of his neck met his skull.  _ You get an i-m-p-l-a-n-t. An object makes you speak. We’re ‘pets’ so we aren’t forced. _

I lowered my spoon with a small clatter. The dinner didn’t seem to sit right with me anymore, like the meals after I had learned what Mr. Argyle was doing with us. 

“I-I don’t know if this is rude, but why are you mute? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

Roswell grinned.  _ It’s fine. People make it a bigger deal than it is. You know I am Rainer’s- _

I squinted as he tapped at the side of his head before gesturing to the side. He wracked his brain for a moment before resorting to spelling out the previous gesture with his fingers.

_ His other. His alternate. _

“Yes. I assume he called you forth from your universe so you could help us.”

Roswell shook his head.  _ He didn’t call me forth. He created me. _

I wondered how my facial expressions looked with my jackal head. “Created? But the book said--”

_ The chapter on alternates applies to n-o-m-a-l-i-n-s. They have alternates. You and Rainer are a-n-o-m-a-l-i-n-s. _

“What....what’s a nomalin?”

_ A normal creature. One that exists in every universe. N-o-m-a-l-i-n-s come from the multiverse, a-t-i-p-i-n-s come from outside the multiverse, and a-n-o-m-a-l-i-n-s are the children of both. _

“So we don’t have a place in the multiverse, because our father didn’t.”

He nodded.  _ A-t-i-p-i-n-s--  _ He brushed his hands away, as if shooing something into the corner, before wrapping his fingers around each other, creating the sign for the word.  _ Atipins have no alternates. N-o-m-a-l-i-n-s--  _ He twirled his finger before tapping on his hand, going on to make part of the sign he had made earlier.  _ Nomalins do _ .

“And what about us-- anomalins?”

He brushed a thumb under his chin, raising two of his fingers before he tapped his hand. He repeated the same latter sign, perhaps something regarding the multiverse or existence.  _ Anomalins create alternates. _

“We don’t naturally have alternates....” He nodded as I continued. “We create them? I don’t understand the difference.”

_ When you made Rill, you MADE Rill-- _ he gestured more widely, as if trying to make a point.  _ Rill did not exist. You made Rill, and you made their universe. _

“I....No. I-I just did what Eudoxia told me! I didn’t make a universe!” I ran a hand over my eyes.

_ He didn’t what it meant to be an anomalin, and you didn’t make a whole universe. You made what you needed-- Rill, their home, their friends, some plants and animals. You didn’t make a whole, developed universe.  _

“But it’s out there. Somewhere out there is my half-made universe, a-and another half-made universe for each of my alternates. Tam, Talib, Sorrel. I....I  _ made  _ them?”

Roswell nodded.  _ When anomalins make alternates, they are different from nomalin alternates. They aren’t separate, whole people. They carry parts of us. Describe your alternates for me. _

I blinked. “Well, Rill is....tough. That’s for sure. They do what they want, what will help them and their friends most, even if it rubs others the wrong way. Tam is fun-loving and bright and really happy. Talib is quiet, but hungry for knowledge. Sorrel....I don’t know. I barely knew Sorrel.”

_ Rill is the tough part of you. You grew up alone. You had to be self-sufficient. Rill is that.  _ Roswell got up, approaching the wall. A chute opened up, and he dumped his dirty plate and cutlery down it. 

_ Tam is the child you wish you could be. You wish you could be so innocent, and have so many pure and happy memories. Talib is the ambitious and curious part of you. The part that drove you to try and uncover what was happening with Mr. Argyle-- a part which you do share with Rainer. And Sorrel....  _ He shrugged.  _ As you said, we don’t know. _

I crossed my arms. “This sounds like an oversimplification of who I am. I didn’t  _ make  _ my alternates to just be ‘parts’ of me-- I made them to help me! They’re not just parts of me. That’s not how people work.”

Roswell walked around the table, settling into a seat next to me. He took one of my hands in his, rubbing it gently, as he continued to sign with the other.

_ Rainer made Mallory, Kiran, and I for a reason. Mallory is how he wished he could be. A normal, supportive, and fun-loving older brother to you. Kiran is the child he never got to be. And I’m....  _ He sighed.  _ I am the protector. The guardian. He wanted to keep you safe from everything, shield you from Mr. Argyle and what had happened. I am that. He made us into separate beings so he could focus on his determined and studious part. So he could make the book without interruption. _

Roswell ran a hand over my head. I shrank back slightly, still unused to the feeling of a hand on my fur. I hated how people tried to pretend I hadn’t changed. I hated how they kept treating me as if I was normal.

His hand dropped back into his lap.  _ How have you been feeling, Jordan? What have you been feeling? _

I threw my hands up. “I don’t know. Depressed? My closest friend is still back at the house, the Association won’t offer us any help, and Mr. Argyle is probably still coming after us-- after  _ me _ . I’m scared and depressed and it all feels really hopeless. One day he’ll catch up with us, and he’ll kill everyone-- except for me. I don’t know what he’ll do to me.”

Roswell leaned back slightly, as if startled by my words. He watched me for a moment before signing again.

_ I’m silent because I hold everything Rainer’s seen. _

I glanced up, looking at him fully instead of from the corner of my eye.

_ Rainer funneled everything into me. His fears. His trauma. His nightmares. He still had them-- he wasn’t getting rid of his memories. But he pushed them down, while I had to deal with them. I grew a tougher skin, and learned to be a protector because I-- he-- wished someone could have protected him. It didn’t fully work. I can’t speak because of the memories. _

“He....gave you his memories?”

He nodded.  _ He gave us all the main memories, but he gave us each different exposure. Kiran is the most innocent. He knows the least about what Rainer really went through. He hasn’t felt the fear Mallory and I have. _

My hand rested on his. His dark brown eyes met mine, full of mixed emotions-- confusion? Fear? Sorrow? I couldn’t be sure, but whatever it was I felt myself mirroring it. I knew how he felt. I pulled him into a hug.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” I didn’t know if I was soothing him or myself, but I kept whispering. “It’s okay, it’s okay.”

He hugged me back. We rocked gently with each other for a long, long time. My whispers faded.

“We can’t get rid of what happened.”

He shook his head.

“But we have each other.”


	6. Chapter 6

“So my theory was right?”

I snorted, watching Janine maneuver around her room. While we-- Janine’s “pets”-- had been relegated to a dormitory, Janine’s quarters were massive and luxurious. Along with a bedroom, a bathroom bigger than the dormitory, and a sitting room, there was also something akin to the dining hall Roswell and I had been in. I doubted we were anywhere close to the ship’s exterior, yet somehow the ceiling of Janine’s bedroom was made entirely of an illuminatory glass. It gave an expansive view of the stars and galaxies beyond.

I rolled my eyes. “I bet you got it from Roswell, considering what you said was  _ exactly  _ what he said.”

She shrugged, placing her hand on the wall. A few more compartments opened up, and she dug through them. “Maybe I just got it from his mind. Sometimes it’s hard to tell when I’m digging through people’s minds versus when I’m just thinking about them.”

“Really?” I sat down on the bed, firm and plush under me. This room wasn’t all that alien, surprisingly-- a lot of the furniture seemed to comply with what I’d find on Earth. Maybe this room had been made specifically for Janine, the style and furnishings plucked from her memory. 

“Yeah. Yesterday, after we’d spoken to the Admistralio, I could hear Isabella hurling insults at them. It took me a while to realize it was all in her head, and that she wasn’t saying them aloud.”

“Have you ever heard my thoughts?”

She nodded, still turned away from me as she sorted through clothing the Association had provided for her. It was a mix of different styles, many of which I didn’t recognize-- probably the cultures making up the Association.

“It’s....I didn’t used to be like this. It started at the house, Mr. Argyle’s house. I just began to.... _ hear  _ things, first the thoughts of those right next to me, and then further and further away. It’s as if my mind is expanding.”

It was disconcerting to hear his name being said aloud. Again and again I’d been pressured not to, been warned of how he could track me down and hear what was happening if I even briefly mentioned his name. Everyone seemed to believe he couldn’t reach us here, Mallory included, but it still didn’t sit right.

Janine snapped me out of my thoughts as she piped up again. “Is this....a record player?” She laughed. “Of all the things, I never thought I’d find one on an alien station among the stars.”

I wheeled myself over. There was a small, square cut-out in the wall, with a beautifully-lacquered wooden record player sat neatly in it. In a second compartment, numerous records were lined up, along with a variety of small, gray squares. I picked one up, turning it over in my hands. Foreign writing covered one side, and the thin material-- plastic, maybe?-- was able to be inserted into the record player. It seemed to be a modified device, with the capacity to play these along with records.

Janine inserted one adorned with curling circles. A creaking noise began, which then shifted to an oddly haunting melody. It sounded like a mix of string instruments and something more metallic, though I couldn’t be sure.

“Do you know what it says?”

Janine shook her head, sorting through a few more. “No clue. I never got to learn whatever writing this is, though I think there’s a few writing systems here.”

“Can you hear the thoughts of the Admistralio and their kind?”

“No, I....” She paused, scratching at the base of her neck. I peered forward-- under her heavy locks of black hair was a small piece of metal, latched onto her skin. 

I held her hair back. “What’s that?”

“They gave it to me when we were getting our hapands. I didn’t question it. It seems to stop me from hearing people’s thoughts, other than you guys.”

I stroked at the edges of the device, where its spiderlike legs were stuck into her. “Does it hurt?”

She shook her head slightly. “I barely feel it.”

“Does it do anything else? Anything other than block you from hearing people?”

“What, do you think the Admistralio is controlling me? Hearing  _ my  _ thoughts?”

“More likely their attendants are the ones listening in, but maybe.”

She laughed, turning about. “You’re paranoid, Jordan. I understand that. But they don’t mean us any harm here.”

I frowned. “How can you be so sure? We know barely anything about these people. They don’t have the same laws as we did, back on Earth. Do they have morals that are even comparable to ours?”

“Comparable?”

“They’re an entirely alien civilization, much older than anything we knew back home. How are you so trusting of these people?”

Janine walked about the room, silent for a moment. She ran a hand over the wallpaper, darkened flowers on a red background. 

“We’re two very different people, Jordan. I choose to see the best in people because, for most of my life, I’ve been in good situations. If that ad had been posted just a few months earlier, I never would have seen it-- until recently, I was at a boarding school, in Palonn. I was happy and carefree.”

She turned back around, frowning. Janine kept looking between me and her feet, as if unsure what to settle her eyes upon. “Poverty and pain are relatively new troubles for me. I haven’t had the life you’ve had.”

I rolled the music square between my fingers, tracing the shallow etchings. I pushed past the memories that threatened to rise to the surface.

“Tell me about Palonn.”

Janine blinked, settling herself down onto the edge of the bed. She patted the space next to her, and I wheeled over. She hooked her hands under my arms.

“May I?”

“Sure.”

She hefted the two of us onto the bed. We lay on our backs, staring up at the swirling stars. Janine breathed deeply, closing her eyes. I followed suit.

“I never knew my parents, but I did have an uncle, Uncle Merrick. He sent me to boarding school from a young age, though I did spend my summers with him in Avbirn. I don’t think he was that rich, but he was well-off enough that I went to a pretty elegant school.

“It was a school for dancers. Lots of long-legged, graceful girls. We’d practice in these amazing recital halls, every surface covered with murals and frescoes and whatever they could fit in-- sometimes I’d mess up and fall because I was too distracted by all the decorations. At night, we slept in these polished dormitories, with big windows overlooking these ponds, and between classes we dined at cute cafes. It was beautiful.”

“Did he die? Your uncle?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know for sure. He just vanished one day, according to his groundskeeper. Went out hunting, and never came back. After a while, he was declared dead, and his money was divvied up. I got barely any money out of his will-- something about debts he owed, and promises he’d made. I couldn’t stay in Palonn, so I went northwards.”

“If he hadn’t disappeared, none of this would have happened, huh?”

I felt hair brush against my shoulder-- even with our eyes closed, she was shaking her head. “I probably would have gone to college, somewhere south of Palonn. Perhaps Tura. Either way, I’d have no reason to go anywhere near Mr. Argyle, let alone an ad board in the first place. It just wouldn’t have happened.”

I tried to imagine Palonn. I didn’t know much about the city, other than its status as a hub for artists and inventors. I’d heard of the long, white-paved paths and towering buildings, but only ever as gossip among noblemen. In my mind, the city was full of sunlight, brighter than the stars behind my eyes.

I opened my eyes, rolling over. Janine opened one eye, peeking out at me.

“Do you regret all of that? Would you undo this if you could?”

She bit at her lip, watching me as I continued on. “If your uncle hadn’t died. Would you rather be in Tura right now?”

“Is it bad if I say yes?”

“Not if it’s the truth.”

“Jordan, I-I do value getting to know you, and getting to know that all of this is out there. You’re a great person. But, if I had the chance, I would rather none of this happened. You’re my friend, but I had friends back in Palonn, too. I had a life, a very human life, and I would’ve been fine living as a human. I didn’t need this.”

I snorted, more to myself than her. “I didn’t need this either. Funny how things just happen.”

There was a knock at the door. It resounded through the room, almost artificially-- I briefly wondered if some sort of sound system was built into the walls. As Janine walked towards the entrance to her suite, I rolled off the bed and settled into my wheelchair. Isabella followed Janine back in.

“Esther sent me to get you. She’s got a few ideas about all this legal business, and what sorta argument we can make.”

“Oh? Is she in the library?”

Isabella nodded. “Yeah. Follow me?”

We nodded. As Isabella skipped ahead Janine turned to me, automatically moving to go behind my wheelchair. I waved my hand.

“It’s fine, I’ll wheel myself down the hall.”

Janine tilted her head, hands opting to smooth her dress instead. “Are you sure? It’ll be faster if you let me help.”

I shook my head, a canine gnawing at my flesh. “No, it’s really alright. Besides, I’ll need to know how to get around when you’re not there.”

Pushing myself ahead, I already felt a pang of guilt at my words, but I went onwards, refusing to turn around and see her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> might not post for a while after this chap, since this is the end of my written material.


End file.
